4112. 'And Jacob stole the heart of Laban the Aramean' means a change, as regards good, of the state meant by 'Laban'. This is clear from the meaning of 'stealing' as taking away that which is cherished and holy, and so changing the state, dealt with immediately above in 4111; from the meaning of 'the heart' as that which proceeds from the will, and - when the will desires good - as good, dealt with in 2930, 3313, 3888, 3889; and from the representation of 'Laban' as intermediate good which is now being separated. And because it is being separated Laban is now called the Aramean, as also in verse 24 below, for 'Laban the Aramean' means, as previously, a kind of good which does not have any Divine Good and Truth within it. The reason why this is meant is that Aram or Syria was separated from the land of Canaan by the river, namely the Euphrates, and so lay outside the land of Canaan which in the internal sense means the Lord's kingdom and in the highest sense the Lord's Divine Human, see above in 4108.

[2] Specifically 'Aram' or Syria means cognitions of truth and good, see 1232, 1234, 3051, 3249, 3664, 3680. The reason why it has this meaning is that the Ancient Church existed there also, with remnants of it remaining there for a long time, as is evident from Balaam who came from there and who was acquainted with Jehovah and also prophesied concerning the Lord. But after the growth of idolatry in that country, and after Abram had been summoned from it and the representative Church was established in the land of Canaan, 'Aram' or Syria took on the representation of a region outside the Church, that is, of a region separated from the Church and as a consequence remote from the things that constituted the Lord's kingdom. But it continued to mean cognitions of good and truth. The reason why Jacob is said to have 'stolen Laban's heart' by not giving any indication that he was fleeing is that immediately above a change of state as regards truth was spoken of, and therefore a change of state as regards good is spoken of here. For when truth is dealt with in the Word so also is good, on account of the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of truth and good, present in every individual part of the Word, 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712.

3313. 'And Isaac loved Esau because of the venison he had in his mouth' means that the Divine Good of the Divine Rational loved the good of truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord's Divine Rational as regards Divine Good, dealt with in 3012, 3013, 3194, 3210, from the representation of 'Esau' as the Lord's Divine Natural as regards the good there, dealt with in 3300, 3302, and later on where Edom is referred to; and from the meaning of 'venison' as the good of life arising out of natural truths, dealt with in 3309. 'In his mouth' means within his natural affection, for in the Word that which is interior and stems from good is referred to as being 'in the heart', and that which is exterior and stems from truth as being 'in the mouth'. And since the good of truth, which is here represented by Esau and is meant by 'hunting', is exterior, that is to say, within natural affection and stemming from truth, it is spoken of as being 'in Isaac's mouth'.